Arizona Helping Hands Partners up this Holiday Season to Support Native American Communities in Need

Covid-19 has hit the entire country, but Native American communities have suffered to a disproportional extent. The Navajo nation has had the country’s highest infection rate, and other communities have also seen devastating numbers.

During times of crisis like these, it seems there is little we can do other than sending thoughts and prayers, but when caring partners gather together, we can make a difference. Arizona Helping Hands (AHH) is our state’s largest provider of essential needs to the 14,000+ children in foster care. Their assistance also extends to children in social services on the Navajo Nation and all Arizona tribal nations. From the Diane & Bruce Halle Foster Family Resource Center, an 18,000 square foot facility in north Phoenix, AHH assists thousands of children and families every year. AHH is a collaborator with all who wish to lend a helping hand, and national partnerships provide unique opportunities to assist during these days of the pandemic.

It was no coincidence that a recent gift from Delivering Good arrived at the perfect time to assist families during these challenging days. Delivering Good unites retailers, foundations, and others to provide people impacted by poverty and tragedy with new merchandise, distributed through community partners like AHH to offer hope to those at-risk. In December, they shipped beautiful, new Patagonia brand outerwear to the AHH warehouse, and the Arizona Helping Hands team wasted no time in making connections to those in our state who could use these items most.

“Our partnership with Delivering Good has given us the opportunity to impact the lives of thousands of children and families with clothing and other essentials. Our warehouse provides us with the capability to receive and distribute amazing gifts from Patagonia and other caring companies to make the biggest impact possible,” said Dan Shufelt, AHH president and CEO.

Within days of this shipment, coats, jackets, overalls and jeans were provided to Native communities, including the Navajo, Hopi, Gila River and Tohono O’odom nations, as well as assisting local basic needs providers such as Nourish Phoenix, Harvest Compassion Center and the City of Scottsdale. 

“Over the past years, we have been the beneficiary of millions of dollars of new product from Delivering Good that immediately helps our foster families, and all additional product is shared with other agencies, helping the maximum number of needy individuals. During these days of the pandemic, this opportunity to lend BIG helping hands to our Native American partners has been a wonderful gift, assisting at a moment of greatest need,” said Shufelt.

For more information about Arizona Helping Hands, visit azhelpinghands.org.

About Arizona Helping Hands
Primary funding for AHH programs comes from Arizona taxpayers through the state’s Qualifying Foster Care tax credit program.  Married couples can donate $1,000 per year and receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on their Arizona tax return.  For information on how to help and to make donations visit www.azhelpinghands.org. Connect on social media at @azhelpinghands.

About Delivering Good
Delivering Good is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides people impacted by poverty and tragedy with new merchandise donated by retailers and manufacturers. Since 1985, Delivering Good has distributed over $2 billion of new clothing, home goods, toys, furniture, books and other consumer products through its network of more than 800 community partners, offering hope, dignity and self-esteem to at-risk children, families and individuals. By uniting retailers, manufacturers, foundations and individuals, Delivering Good strives to help create a more equitable world where children, adults and families facing economic, medical, social and environmental challenges have useful items needed to overcome adversity and achieve their full potential. For more information about Delivering Good, please visit delivering-good.org or follow @DeliveringGood on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.